Nishioka Ironworks Co., Ltd.

Nishioka Gumi, the predecessor of Nishioka Ironworks, began plate coating contract manufacturing in the factory of Sumitomo machinery (now: Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd.) in 1933. In 1937 the company constructed its own plant and become a subcontract factory for Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., and in 1961 the company was renamed to the current name. In engaging in the production of various plate working products, the company improved its processing technology for thin plates, and now manufactures products such as control boards and various types of industrial machinery covers.

The company established Nishiki Densoh in 1983 to cover the design and wiring work for control panels. The group’s forte was its comprehensive production system where all production processes through to the completed control panels are conducted at the same site, however President Kei Nishioka noticed that the company was not able to provide any special services that made it stand out from its competitors. He saw that the key to expanding business was to increase the production level of thin sheet fabrication, and so he turned his attention to laser beam welding technology.

Laser beam welding involves focusing pulsed waves on a single point to join together multiple pieces at that point. There is less distortion compared to ordinary welding as the materials are not heated as much. The welded surfaces are also have a much cleaner finish which reduces the amount of subsequent work for correcting distortion or buffing the welded surfaces, resulting in a drastic reduction in work time.

Nishioka Ironworks installed a YAG laser beam welder in 2012 with the aim of securing new customers. The laser beam welder allowed welding of stainless steel material 0.8 mm thicker than what was previously possible, which led to a positive increase in sales. Yet the handheld device made it difficult to achieve reliable welding quality for large products, and quality fluctuations in large lots became an issue.

To overcome these issues a fiber laser welder was installed in 2015. This robotic welding system resulted in reliable welding quality for mass-produced items or large products. It also has a higher power output than the YAG laser welder, which means it can also be used for aluminum welding.

Nishioka Ironworks actively suggests work improvements to customers by using the laser welder. Boxes of plate working have a better looking finish if the number of welded points can be reduced, which means many products are made using bending. The use of laser beam welding has a cleaner finish and has less material loss compared to bending work, and forming a box after attaching parts to the inner side helps to improve productivity, resulting in reduced costs and shorter turnaround times.

Nishioka Ironworks will be making further improvements to laser beam welding so that people in the industry will automatically think of Nishioka when it comes to low-distortion thin sheet fabrication. The company is aware that the precision of preceding processes affects welding quality, and is also looking at installing a fiber laser cutter to achieve manufacturing with an even higher level of quality.